Heat in the classroom: How much cooling will schools need?
In some schools in Saxony, temperatures occasionally exceeded 26 degrees during the summer. Researchers from Freiberg are therefore measuring the cooling needs of buildings and developing a cooling map for Saxony.
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In some of the schools studied in Saxony, temperatures exceeded 26 degrees for more than a quarter of the time during the summer. Researchers want to find out how buildings can be cooled more effectively in the future. © Victor Salazar/pixabay
Temperatures of 26 degrees and higher in classrooms: This was not uncommon in some Saxon schools this summer. This is shown by initial measurement data from a research project at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Together with the DBI Gas Technology Institute in Freiberg, the researchers are investigating how municipalities, energy providers, and private households can better prepare for future heat waves.
Since 2025, the researchers have been measuring room temperature and humidity at over 60 schools, kindergartens, and residential buildings in Saxony. Their findings revealed just how hot rooms in some schools can get during the summer. “Our data from 2025 and the first half of 2026 already show that in some schools, indoor temperatures exceeded 26 degrees Celsius for more than 25 percent of the time during the summer – which is actually too hot for classes,” says engineer Lukas Oppelt from the Institute for Heat Engineering and Thermodynamics at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
Which cooling system is right for which building?
The team uses the measurement data to develop so-called cooling load profiles. Put simply, these show how much cooling a building needs on average. This is supplemented by a cooling map covering all of Saxony. In the future, both tools are intended to help calculate cooling requirements for individual areas and identify suitable, sustainable cooling technologies.
So-called heating load profiles already exist for heating planning. A comparable basis for cooling has been lacking until now. “Building cooling will become increasingly important over the next ten years, but municipal and private developers have so far lacked relevant data and simple calculation options,” says Oppelt. The new data is intended to help plan for cooling in new construction and renovations from the very beginning. In addition, the researchers are calculating how high cooling demand might be in the future for various locations.
Cooling atlas for Saxony in the works
An online tool will eventually show which technology might be suitable for which cooling needs. In addition to traditional air conditioning, options such as an air-source heat pump, a geothermal well, or a local well are also being considered. The accompanying Cooling Atlas for Saxony is expected to be available by the end of 2027. At that time, private homeowners – in addition to municipalities and energy providers – will be able to access the project results and use them to plan their cooling systems.
According to the findings so far, schools, daycare centers, and long-term care facilities in large cities – especially in city centers – are particularly affected. However, there are also areas with particularly high cooling needs in smaller towns and rural areas. The researchers cite Lommatzsch and Bautzen as examples.
